News | Article and video from San Bernardino Sun

Youngsters' Dreams Come True - Third-graders' letters spur efforts by volunteers

by Carolyn G. Schatz, Staff writer

 
 Video courtesy of San Bernardino Sun.

Fontana (August 31, 2007) - It all started with letters to the mayor. And it ended with a big Ka-BOOM! A Ka-BOOM! park, that is.

More than 350 volunteers turned out in 110-degree heat Thursday morning to build a playground from scratch at North Tamarind Park.

The park's old playground had gone by the wayside, so third-graders at nearby North Tamarind Elementary School wrote to Mayor Mark Nuaimi asking if the city could do something about the park.

Their heartfelt pleas were heard.

For a few hours Thursday, scores of volunteers scrambled to erect racing-themed slides and playground equipment in a colorful kickoff to Labor Day's NASCAR weekend.

As the adults worked, the kids came out to play.

Students in session at North Tamarind Elementary were allowed into the park that adjoins their school in hour-long shifts to watch the playground be built before their eyes.

Kept in a play area a safe distance away from construction, kids happily took their turns playing fitness games and dipping their hands in colored paint to make their personal mark on large signs commemorating the day.

A class of first-graders, patiently seated on the grass waiting to play, erupted in applause as the first newly constructed piece went up - a bright orange Helix used for climbing.

"We want the kids to be here, in a safe place off to the side," said Inland Empire United Way's Larry Deckel, program manager for the organization's Hands On Inland Empire Initiative.

"We want them to be part of it - to see what's going on because of their civic action," said Deckel, grinning in the heat under his straw-brimmed hat. "It's something positive that shows them they do have power to make a difference. They do have a voice."

Teams of volunteers from United Way's Hands On, Home Depot, the nonprofit Ka-BOOM! and a variety of corporate sponsors converged to create the enticing, bright orange-and-black park under the Racing to Play banner.

Once the structures were in place and the cement setting on Thursday, the park was deemed ready for a midday Saturday opening.

The brand-new playground in Fontana is the eighth of 10 Racing to Play parks to be built this year the United States.

The Racing to Play parks are just part of a $25 million commitment by Home Depot to Ka-BOOM! to create and refurbish 1,000 parks in 1,000 days.

The Fontana playground is the first of its kind in the Inland Empire.

Inland Empire United Way had been wanting to do something for the kids in neighborhoods surrounding California Speedway, said Robin Kelley, director of the organization's Hands On Inland Empire Initiative.

When Nuaimi approached Hands On and pledged $75,000 to rebuilding the park, Hands On turned to the NASCAR Foundation. The foundation connected the United Way group with Ka-BOOM!

With the additional funding from Ka-BOOM! and Home Depot's Racing to Play program, the project was under way.

Dedicated volunteers assembled playground parts according to instruction sheets, shoveled sawdust into the playground area, trundled wheelbarrows of cement to be poured around the structures, and painted the park's gazebo.

Most of those sweating under the sweltering sun had come in on their day off to lend a hand.

Shari Fife of Home Depot's south Fontana store helped out between work shifts to be part of the community.

"When I signed up, I didn't realize the timing of it," said Fife as she worked on putting together stairs that would go up to a set of playground rings.

"But so far, it's fun."

Fife said she planned to bring her 4-year-old daughter to the grand opening but hadn't yet leaked the secret.

"I couldn't tell her ahead of time," Fife said. "She'd be too excited."

Carla Meza of Home Depot's south San Bernardino store stood on a ladder painting the underside of the gazebo's roof.

"I've been wanting to do this for a while. I guess it's time," she said.

Now that her son is 10 months old, she said she plans to bring him and her 4-year-old to the playground's opening day - once her shift at work is over.

Revitalization of the park is the first phase of Hands On's "extreme makeover" of the North Tamarind neighborhood.

In the second phase, Hands On will work with community volunteers on Oct. 6 to spruce up North Tamarind by painting murals, working on landscaping, and cleaning up the grounds.

To volunteer, visit www.HandsOnInlandEmpire.org or call Deckel at (909) 980-2857 ext. 208.

Contact staff writer Carolyn Schatz at (909) 386-3845 or via e-mail at carolyn.schatz@sbsun.com.

< view all news